Footscray traders are backing a Maribyrnong council anti-litter campaign aimed at cleaning up their community.
Signage on rubbish bins around Footscray Mall and footpath designs promoting the anti-litter message were installed last week as part of the ‘Don’t mess with Footscray’ anti-litter campaign to ensure litter and food waste are disposed of properly and don’t end up in stormwater drains.
Traders such as Café Bulldog, Footscray Best Kebab House, Khartoum Centre Restaurant, Nobel Bakery and Nami Sushi earned rewards vouchers for taking part in the project and encouraging community members to get on board.
The campaign was partly inspired by reports of parking meter tickets from Melbourne metropolitan councils, including Maribyrnong, being found on Mount Martha beach.
The tickets had been washed into stormwater drains and rivers before being swept across the bay and ending up on the Mornington Peninsula shoreline.
Council sustainability officer Michael Chew believes the campaign will remind people of the damage that litter causes to the environment.
“Litter dropped in street gutters makes its way into stormwater drains, into the Maribyrnong River and then out into Port Phillip Bay,” Mr Chew said.
“It’s always challenging because people are too busy or just don’t think about where their waste goes when they litter … hopefully the new signage will remind people.
“It’s quite challenging to make sure that a campaign like this is creative. With this one, we got some local artists to create some art on the ground so that people can make that connection if they drop their rubbish.”
He said it was hoped the multilingual ‘Don’t mess with Footscray’ messages reflected the diverse community in the west.
“When we’re in a built-in environment, people can forget that rubbish can travel a long way,” Mr Chew said. “We hope this will make people more aware and give them a little nudge in the right direction.”
